"So shall my word be that goes out from my mouth; it shall not return to me empty, but it shall accomplish that which I purpose, and shall succeed in the thing for which I sent it." (Isaiah 55:11, ESV)
The Word of God is so powerfully alive! The Word that goes out from the mouth of God has a mission to accomplish. It is being sent for a purpose. The Word will not be allowed to return to the Father until it has achieved the objective for which it was sent. The Word shall succeed in the thing for which it was sent! God desires the Ekklesia to be immersed in His Word. He desires that our hearts be full of His Word. What God is after is a church that is aware of the Kingdom they carry and the power of that Kingdom being released through them. When the church starts to see and understand the power of the Word within it, it will become one that declares the Word with power. Like God, the Ekklesia will speak the Word and know that that Word will not return empty but will accomplish what it was sent to do...to succeed in that very thing! The church that lives in this manner is seeing earth from heaven's perspective and seeking to bring the Father's will to earth as it is in heaven. What has God said that you, too, can say? Speak it! Declare it! Work it!
0 Comments
"Death and life are in the power of the tongue, and those who love it will eat its fruits." (Proverbs 18:21, ESV)
Who would have imagined that that tiny piece of flesh called the tongue could wield so much power? Think about it! Dying and living are in the power of the tongue. It reminds me of a Clint Eastwood quote from The Outlaw Josey Wales, "Dying ain't much of a living, boy." Seriously, it should be a 'no-brainer.' Why would you choose death? People choose death because it is already in their hearts. In Luke 6:45, Jesus declares, "Out of the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaks." Whatever is most filling your heart is what will come out of it. Good things will come out if you put good treasure in your heart. If you put bad treasure in your heart, bad things will come out. Therefore we are to guard our heart with all diligence, for it determines the course of our lives. (Proverb 4:23) If you believed your tongue had that much power, you would watch over it carefully. You would uproot and remove every bad seed you were aware of. You would immediately begin planting the Word of God (treasure) into your heart. And you would tend it every day. You would speak that Word boldly, with confidence and authority. And the empowered Word of God released by your tongue into your life would produce good things. Dying and living are in the power of the tongue; let's get to living! "Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who promised is faithful." (Hebrews 10:23, ESV)
The word confession comes from the Greek word homologia. In the simplest form, it means to say the same thing. But there is more: you are not merely repeating what someone else has said. You are standing in complete agreement with what a person has spoken. I think of confession as this: "What has God said that I, too, can say?" When I find something in the Word of God that becomes a revelation to me, I am now seeing from God's perspective. My heart and God's heart are in agreement. Therefore, I can speak the same thing by faith and receive the promised results. It is the word of God in my heart that empowers me to be able to speak/confess what He has said. The Word of God, deep in my heart, activates faith. When my faith is activated, my mouth speaks! I speak as a man with a promise from a God who is faithful. A faith confession coming from the heart will move a mountain! For example, in salvation: "if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved." (Romans 10:9, ESV) The mouth and the heart work together to produce the intended promise. What has God said that you, too, can say? Start growing your confessions of faith. "This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success." (Joshua 1:8, ESV)
People of faith can only occupy the Land of Promises! Faith comes by hearing the message, so God tells Joshua not to let His Word depart from his mouth. Joshua is to meditate on it through the day and through the night. What does it mean to meditate on God's Word? To meditate means to think about or to ponder. When applied to God's Word, as in Joshua 1:8, it means to consider God's Word with the purpose of application. "How shall I live this?" It is remembering God's Word and seeking to find strategies of application. Many believers hurry through their devotional time and fail to think about how they might apply the word they have read. But, if we stop to think about that word and how to use it, faith often arises and, along with it, solutions to life's challenges. Meditation on the Word also reminds me of who God is. When I think about who He is, all things appear possible. Nothing is impossible with God! God wants Joshua to know this as he prepared to take the promised land as their God-given possession. It is what God wants you to know as you claim the promises of God for your life. "So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ." (Romans 10:17, ESV)
If you want to grow in faith, devour the Word. If you're going to succeed in a specific area of faith, find scriptures that speak to that area of your life. For example, If you need healing in your body, you want to find scriptures that reveal the heart of God towards you regarding healing. Here are some samples:
There are scriptures for everything that you will face in life. Our job is to find them, meditate on them, and confess or speak them. When Jesus says, "My words are spirit and life." (John 6:63), He means it! Faith comes by hearing the message, and the message comes from what Christ speaks to us. Faith gives us access to the things of God! And His Word gives us access to Him. "So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ." (Ro 10:17, ESV)
The Greek word for faith means to have trust or confidence in God. Peter speaks of tested faith as more precious than gold. The only way to access anything from God is to have faith. Faith touches every part of the believer's life! You cannot get saved without faith (Eph 2:8-9). It takes faith to get healed (Mark 5:34). It takes faith to prosper (Mt. 6:30). Faith is enormous in the Christian's life. So, how do we get faith? Paul answers that question for us in Romans 10:17. He clearly says, "Faith comes by hearing, and hearing through the Word of Christ." This trust and confidence in God comes from hearing the message. The Greek word for 'word' or 'message' is rhema. It means the spoken word of Christ. Christ speaking to us is rhema. When I read the Word of God, and suddenly it is as if He is speaking to me through that Word, that is rhema. I can read the Word of God continually, but when 'the light comes on,' it is now a personal word to me from Him, and I walk away having trust or confidence in Him that I did not have just a moment ago. This is one reason why reading the Word of God is so essential to the Christian. If faith comes out of hearing the Word of God, then I want to be a person who devours the Word of God so that I might have faith in all things pertaining to life. |
|
Bringing Freedom and Life to People and Glory to God!
© 2015 Freedom Christian Center, Inc., all rights reserved.
|